Botox May Prevent Headache Pain
Toxin Partially Paralyzes Muscles
POSTED: 1:35 p.m. EDT June 18, 2002
Do you suffer from headaches? A deadly toxin may ease your pain, according to a new study.
Small amounts of botox are proving effective at preventing debilitating headaches, according to a Wake Forest University researcher.
Dr. Todd Troost reported the findings today at the annual meeting of the American Headache Society in Seattle.
He said that people who didn't repond to headache medication had success rates as high as 92 percent using injections of botulinum toxin to treat their headaches.
"Botox is becoming one of the main preventive therapies for headache," said Troost, a professor and chairman of neurology at Wake Forest, who has treated more than 350 patients with botox.
The drug, a purified form of the toxin that causes botulism, partially paralyzes muscles for about three months. For headache treatment, it is injected into muscles around the eyes and forehead and sometimes the jaw. For patients whose headaches involve the entire head, additional injections are given in the upper back of the neck and shoulders.
For the study, Troost evaluated 134 patients with migraine headaches, tension headaches or chronic daily headaches, defined as those who had a headache more than 15 days a month. A majority of the patients had already been treated with at least three headache medications without success.
Patients had from one to four Botox treatments at three-month intervals. After each treatment, they were asked to describe the results using a five-point scale, one being no improvement, and five being excellent improvement.
Overall, 84 percent of patients reported improvement. Among those who had four treatments, 92 percent reported improvement with a mean score of 4.3.
"I tell patients that it is important not give up if it has only a mild effect the first time," Troost said. "The second or third time it really seems to work better."
Migraine headaches affect about 17 percent of women and 6 percent of men in the United States. About 5 percent of the population has chronic daily headaches.
"Overuse of medications for debilitating headaches has been observed in up to 80 percent of chronic daily headache patients," Troost said. "These patients should be considered for preventive therapy."
Troost said Botox can be less expensive and have fewer side effects than many medications used for headache prevention.
Small amounts of botox are proving effective at preventing debilitating headaches, according to a Wake Forest University researcher.
Dr. Todd Troost reported the findings today at the annual meeting of the American Headache Society in Seattle.
He said that people who didn't repond to headache medication had success rates as high as 92 percent using injections of botulinum toxin to treat their headaches.
"Botox is becoming one of the main preventive therapies for headache," said Troost, a professor and chairman of neurology at Wake Forest, who has treated more than 350 patients with botox.
The drug, a purified form of the toxin that causes botulism, partially paralyzes muscles for about three months. For headache treatment, it is injected into muscles around the eyes and forehead and sometimes the jaw. For patients whose headaches involve the entire head, additional injections are given in the upper back of the neck and shoulders.
For the study, Troost evaluated 134 patients with migraine headaches, tension headaches or chronic daily headaches, defined as those who had a headache more than 15 days a month. A majority of the patients had already been treated with at least three headache medications without success.
Patients had from one to four Botox treatments at three-month intervals. After each treatment, they were asked to describe the results using a five-point scale, one being no improvement, and five being excellent improvement.
Overall, 84 percent of patients reported improvement. Among those who had four treatments, 92 percent reported improvement with a mean score of 4.3.
"I tell patients that it is important not give up if it has only a mild effect the first time," Troost said. "The second or third time it really seems to work better."
Migraine headaches affect about 17 percent of women and 6 percent of men in the United States. About 5 percent of the population has chronic daily headaches.
"Overuse of medications for debilitating headaches has been observed in up to 80 percent of chronic daily headache patients," Troost said. "These patients should be considered for preventive therapy."
Troost said Botox can be less expensive and have fewer side effects than many medications used for headache prevention.
Previous Stories:
- May 21, 2002: A Botox Primer
- May 6, 2002: Tupperware Party Or Botox Party?
- April 15, 2002: FDA Approves Botox For Face Wrinkles
- February 27, 2002: Botox To Be Approved For Cosmetic Use
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